Appiah praise for Sao Tome, but not the pitch

by Staff Reporter

Tuesday Nov 19, 2019. 10:00

Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah has praised Sao Tome e Principe following their 1-0 victory in a 2021 Africa Cup of Nations Group C qualifier on Monday, but slammed the state of the artificial pitch.

The Black Stars needed a Jordan Ayew penalty to get the win and created little else in the way of chances in a difficult encounter for the side.

But six points, and no goals conceded, from their opening two qualifiers is a fine return for Appiah, who has been under some pressure coming into the campaign.

“Even though we won, I think the Sao Tome team played well, tactically,” Appiah told reporters. “Anytime they lost the ball, they all came behind the ball and wherever the ball went, they made sure they had a lot of people there and playing against a team with six [at the] back is always difficult.”

Appiah was not as complimentary about the pitch, which he felt contributed to what was a dull spectacle.

“The pitch … the players were complaining about the controls and running, but on a whole, I think we did well. We had most of the possession but we missed a lot of chances that we could have scored.”

Ghana now face a double-header with Sudan when the qualifiers resume in August-September next year.